* Dollar down against a basket of currencies
* iShares Silver Trust <SLV> holdings hit record
* SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> holdings steady
(Recasts, updates prices and comments)
By Rebekah Curtis and Humeyra Pamuk
LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Gold climbed 1 percent on Friday
and traded within a striking distance of its record high as the
dollar fell against a basket of currencies after weak U.S.
consumer sentiment data.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,114.55 per ounce at 1650 GMT,
compared with a last quote of $1,103.60 late in New York on
Thursday, when it rallied to a record high of $1,122.85 due to a
bearish prognosis for the dollar.
"The rally is probably a function of continued concerns
about the dollar going into next week," said James Steel,
analyst at HSBC in New York. "Another surprise was the fact that
gold was able to rally against weak crude prices," he said.
The U.S. currency <.DXY> was down 0.31 percent against a
basket of currencies, after data showed U.S. consumer sentiment
falling in early November to its weakest in three months.
[]
The U.S. currency is still down about 7 percent so far this
year, making commodities priced in the greenback cheaper for
holders of other currencies and boosting gold's price prospects.
"The only thing that seems likely to puncture this would be
a reversal in the dollar, but it's still on a clear downward
trend," said Stephen Briggs, a commodities strategist for RBS in
London, adding there was a "uniformity" in the market's view
that the dollar would weaken further.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were up
around half a percent at $1,113.5 an ounce. They hit a record
high of $1,123.40 on Thursday.
But some analysts said the rally could be running out of
steam as investors were turning reluctant to build up new longs
at these high prices.
"No one really wants to get longer at these levels. There's
some profit taking in there and some people are calling an
interim top and trying to short the market," said Tom Kendall,
precious metals strategist at Mitsubishi.
OIL FALLING
U.S. crude oil <CLc1> fell and touched its lowest level in
almost a month, further weighing on gold as it often moves in
line with crude, both because it can be used as a hedge against
oil-led inflation and as rising crude prices often increase
interest in commodities as an asset class.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD> said its holdings stood at 1,114.443 tonnes as
of Nov. 12, unchanged from the previous day. []
And South Africa, previously the world's top producer, said
gold output fell 9.3 percent in volume terms in September
compared to a year earlier. []
There was a revival in interest in silver with holdings in
the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund hitting a
record high.
The holdings in the iShares Silver Trust <SLV> rose 183.37
tonnes, or 2.1 percent, from the previous day to an all-time
high of 8,923.52 tonnes as of Nov. 12. []
Silver <XAG=> traded at $17.31 from $17.21. Platinum <XPT=>
was at $1,368 from $1,350.50 and palladium was at $352 from
$346.95.
But some warn the fundamentals for silver remain a concern.
"Silver is really struggling to keep up with gold at the
moment because this is a gold story, it is not a silver story,"
RBS' Briggs said. "Silver is only a geared play on gold, its own
fundamentals are not great. If it weren't for the ETF buying the
market is in surplus."
(Editing by Veronica Brown)
